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26 February 2010

Two stories of antisocial behaviour

The perils facing bus drivers today

Two separate stories in the past few days illustrate the danger facing drivers and passengers of buses these days due to antisocial behaviour:

POLICE are appealing for information after a bus driver was assaulted outside the Citybus depot. The incident happened at about 3pm yesterday after the male driver of the Number 77 (?what?) Citybus bus asked the passenger to stop drinking from a can of beer. A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "The bus picked up the offender – who was carrying an unopened can of beer – at a bus stop close to the Milehouse dept. "The driver told the man that he could not drink the beer on the bus. "While approaching the depot, the man opened the beer and began drinking and the bus driver stopped the bus and told him to stop drinking. "The offender then became aggressive and began shouting at the driver. "He grabbed him on the upper left arm twice and caused an injury before he ran off." This is Plymouth 23 Feb 2010

The newer Ugobuses in Plymouth have the large security screens which are clearly standard issue with First for all new buses. I personally find them awkward as I cant hear the driver speak and it seems so impersonal and out of place in Plymouth. Citybus have so far managed without such fittings and I know many First drivers who would prefer not to have them, but incidents like this do remind you what drivers have to put up with every day. It is sad that such fittings do have to be added to buses to protect staff who are doing a job which many people rely on. These screens can only protect a driver from so much. In the following incident these screens wont have served any purpose... YOUTHS in Southway caused £400 damage to a bus after hurling a brick through a side window. Police say it was fortunate nobody was injured, although the bus had to be taken out of operation to be repaired. Investigators are now keen to hear from anybody who saw the incident, which occurred at the junction of Southway Drive and Clittaford Road at around 5.45pm on February 15. This is Plymouth 25 Feb 2010

I have been on a bus which has been hit by a stone / brick or something similar and it is not a pleasant experience. Luckily for me when my bus was hit, a few years ago, the window was not broken so no one was hurt. You do hope that the yobs behind such attacks get caught and do get appropriate punishment, although it is rare to hear anything further on these incidents. With cctv fitted to more and more buses there should in theory be a higher chance of prosecuting offenders but do they get much success?

About Me

My main on-line activity is the Plymothian Transit Blog which covers anything and everything to do with transport in and around Plymouth. My main interest was always buses and coaches so these feature heavily in the blog but I am also covering the railways and the road of Plymouth past and present. The development of the City also gets a mention from time to time.